CEYAS

An ever-increasing truck driver shortage is changing the industry. Stakeholders must ensure that the work remains as attractive and interesting as possible for drivers. At the same time, logistics yards struggle to make shunting more effective and efficient, and get trucks back on the road as swiftly as possible.

However, current shunting requires either truck driver participation or a yard worker to manually guide the trailer. Some yard workers utilise highly pollutant diesel trailer tractors, or electric trailer tractors, to move goods around the yard. These time-consuming and costly procedures are prone to error and often to higher emissions. CEYAS offers an automated solution that can be installed on any vehicle with drive-by-wire functionality, and scaled to fit any port, distribution centre, or industrial area, creating autonomous vehicles that are highly accurate and use electricity instead of diesel. The automated system contributes to stabilizing the flow in yard shunting and can lead to up to 30% more efficiency in the yard’s logistic flow.

Successful shunting requires extreme accuracy, which can hardly be achieved with GPS or other systems. CEYAS uses LiDAR – Light Detection and Ranging – to enable highly precise and safe shunting within 5 centimetres of a target. The vehicle, currently a trailer mover, is equipped with a vehicle automation system, which is connected to a yard operation system back-end. The trailers and yard infrastructure do not require adaptations.

After some programming to accommodate the specific dimensions, layout, and organisation of a yard or dock, the CEYAS system can accurately and efficiently take over shunting tasks, and provide faster, more accurate trailer handling. The elimination of a human shunter reduces errors, increases efficiency and safety, and eliminates emissions from idling trucks. Automated yard operations also lead to overall cost reductions and more efficient use of staff for complex tasks. The solution also relieves truck drivers of this tedious task, significantly reduces their handling time, and gets them back on the road swiftly.

Experts in TNO’s Mobility and Built Environment team designed CEYAS in direct response to the needs of the industry. The solution is easy to install on drive-by-wire vehicles, and the CEYAS team provides setup, technological support, maintenance, and training as part of the standard service. By serving both yard operators and their drivers simultaneously, the CEYAS team stands ready to address several industry concerns in one, elegant solution.

Originally entering the market as Transport-as-a-Service (TaaS) with a monthly subscription model, CEYAS aims to start with implementing the solution with a single trailer mover in a logistics operation. Upon the completion of setup and calibration to the yard’s specific characteristics, the system is easily scalable in the yard, enabling full automation of the shunting process. From there, the team aims to make the technology available to yards, ports, and distribution centres across Europe and beyond.

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